Kerala has received copious summer rain as estimated from March 1 to 22 with only Kasaragod district recording ‘no rainfall’ during the season. The State received 83.5 mm rainfall which is 362% excess to the normal rainfall of 18.1 mm.
Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) director S. Sudevan told The Hindu on Wednesday that the districts in South Kerala recorded good rainfall though North Kerala was a little bit behind, all the districts except Kasaragod received more than average rainfall, he said.
The highest rainfall was recorded in Pathanamthitta district with 286.4 mm (average rainfall 43.1 mm) and the lowest in Kasaragod where the average rainfall was 5.1 mm. However, Palakkad district received the highest percentage of rainfall with 82.4 mm where the average rainfall was 11 mm. This is 649% excess to the normal rainfall.
Though the main rainfall season in the State is considered from June 1 to September 30 (Southwest monsoon) and October 1 to December 31 (Northeast monsoon), winter rainfall from January 1 to February 28, and summer rainfall from March 1 to May 31 are also considered for meteorological estimate.
There were 34% and 62% deficiency respectively in the Southwest and Northeast rainfall in the State. The winter rainfall was also deficient by 47%. This was compensated to an extent by the copious rainfall in the summer season. The IMD has also predicted more rainfall in the coming days.
The dried up wells and ponds could be recharged and water flow restored in the rivers and tributaries especially in the south and central districts. This provided a great consolation as the State was undergoing a dry weather situation affecting the farm sector and high power consumption with only poor water level in the reservoirs.
An official of the Dam Monitoring and Research Station, Vazhathoppe, said the water inflow through the Periyar, the main tributary of the Idukki reservoir has picked up. The water level in the dam was 2,327.6 ft compared to the 2,340.7 ft on the same day last year. The reservoir has 28.43% of its storage capacity, he said.
The inflow of water has picked up for the past few days. If the summer rain continued, the water level would register an increasing trend during the start of the Southwest monsoon, he said.
